Difference between revisions of "Logs:Elevator Duty"

The good thing about being back on elevator duty today: it's not raining, or at least not officially, though there are still drips and sometimes even sloshes from water that's condensed on stone here or collected in pools upon ledges there. Telavi even goes so far as to keep her hood down, as though that could help her skin soak up at least a little bit of sun; after the breakfast rush, it's been a quiet morning, letting her sink into a half-doze back against Solith's neckridge and just wait. Ugh, waiting. But then Solith jostles beneath her, because there's the signal, and Solith's excited: someone to pick up! They can go! Up! That ledge, over there! She knows that ledge! Before Telavi knows it, there they are, skimming to a landing only to add an unnecessary hop just because. Tela puts on a smile for their would-be passenger before she really looks down, because that's what you do, only then that smile brightens. "Why, hello."

That ledge is Arekoth's ledge, and Arekoth is nowhere to be seen - it's just Madilla, whose easy calm for the situation (should it be embarrassing to be collected from the ledge of the man you've been sleeping with for the past turn?) wavers only slightly under the emphasis of Telavi's greeting. "Good morning, Telavi," says the healer, whose pink cheeks are probably because of the wind and nothing else at all. "And... Solith? You can give me a ride down?"

"Oh, we'd be happy to give you a ride down," and certainly Tela sounds above all things delighted, Solith pleased to crouch low to make it easy on the poor dragonless woman... who had gotten up to the ledge just fine on a bigger dragon, but never mind that. "Would you like a hand? Here, let me give you my hand, just in case. Do you have any other things? Your children aren't still here, are they?" because Madilla would really leave her kids alone on in some brownrider's weyr without her. "She's stronger than she looks, you know, it won't be any problem at all."

In truth, Madilla almost certainly doesn't need that hand, but she accepts it nonetheless, and proves her adeptness at it by answering the greenrider even as she's doing so. "No, the children are with a friend-- well, probably at class, at this point. It's just me, as I am. Thank you." And then, once she's safely seated herself between the green's neckridges, "She's lovely, your Solith."

"Thank you! I mean, she says thank you," Tela says brightly, overseeing Madilla's buckles just in case. Solith twists around to look too, her eyes unlidded in the cloud-softened light and such a pretty, pretty green-blue. "We'll give you a nice ride down," Solith taking it easy with moving to the edge of the ledge in a way that speaks of a desire to not disrupt her passenger, unless it has more to do with some unspoken request. At least, if she's stalling, it's not completely unsubtle. "Now, where exactly would you like to go? By the lake? The craft complex? Breakfast? Baths?"

"The Craft Complex, please," says Madilla, who tests her buckles for Telavi's scrutiny, though she, herself, seems entirely unconcerned. "I appreciate it, both of you. It can be a pain, sometimes, not having my own means of transport." There's a glint of something in her eye, something that could be amusement, even if her expression is otherwise impassive. It's probably not easy to see, but - it's there. "One advantage we non-riders do have is baths in close proximity to our quarters."

"The Craft Complex it is," Telavi murmurs all professionally and everything, and this while Madilla can't even be expected to compliment her to a wingleader, much less the right wingleader. As Solith floats out over the Bowl, taking up all the room in the world since those other wings are long gone to their sweeps and the others haven't come back yet, "We're glad to, really... but baths, so close, do you? Lucky," and that's the more heartfelt for being girlish, unless that's the other way around. "Lucky, lucky, lucky."

"There's a set in the complex," explains Madilla, cheerfully. It may be that she's glad to direct attention away from where she's come from, and on to where they're going - or perhaps it's just conversation. "It's certainly convenient. We're lucky with that complex, certainly. And how are you enjoying being graduated?" She seems perfectly comfortable in flight - she even seems to enjoy it, the way Solith floats so beautifully.

"How interesting," though Telavi puts at least a little effort into not sounding acquisitive as she glances back over her shoulder. "Some of the lower weyrs have them too, but of course nothing a barely-not-weyrling rates," and that's cheerful enough. "Are yours all together, or are they separated, the men and the women? I hear some places do it that way... and yes, we're enjoying it, though of course it's different, everyone gone their separate ways, or at least almost everyone, there are clumps of us here and there." With the weather as relatively fine as it is, with their passenger seeming to enjoy it, Solith even takes the scenic route over the lake.

Madilla's gaze turns from Telavi and Solith to enjoy the view, which is no doubt aided by the smoothness of the ride - rather different from some of the other dragons she's used to! "I suppose no. What a luxury it would be, if we were all to have our own. Ours are all together, same as the ones in the caverns. Still, we manage well enough." Even presumably modest types like Madilla! "Mmm. I suppose it's different to when I was posted, and yet - there's a similarity. Your experiences aren't all shared any more. I expect some of you will stay closer than others, but that's the way of life, isn't it? We all move on."

"Wouldn't it, though," and quite a happy luxury, if Tela's voice floating back to Madilla is to be believed. But that's before she ducks her head at the some of them, followed by something like a nod for the way of life, by silence for moving on. Until, "I suppose so," and already it's wistful. Solith has to beat her wings, finally, just two sweeps before they're back into a glide. "I hope Quielle manages all right. It can't be much longer, can it? And you and H'kon," the slightest question on the name, not because she doesn't know the ledge but really, H'kon? "Have you been together a very long time, was it before all that business with the queens?"

The 'H'kon question' must be one Madilla is, if not used to, certainly not wholly surprised by: she laughs. It means she bypasses answering some of those earlier remarks and says, instead, "Quielle's got another two or three sevens to go, at most. She should be fine: she's young and healthy. I expect the real question is more emotional than physical wellness, of course." She's matter-of-fact when she adds, "No, after. A turn or so. We tend to keep our business... quiet."

"Of course." Again there's that little dip of Tela's head. "And Nhidanth, he's already had to be... talked out of certain things, I've heard," roundabout enough that Solith takes no notice of anything but the elderly green who's jumped into their path but beats skyward handily enough. Once Telavi's satisfied herself of the other dragon's distance, "A Turn, really. Congratulations! And of course, quiet. I can only imagine. Solith, she's only just barely a Turn herself, believe it or not, it feels like forever. She was so little, I could carry her around just anywhere. Not that you'll be carrying him around places! But it did make me think of it."

Madilla's front teeth come to rest on her lip at mention of Nhidanth, upon whom she makes no comment. Her gaze slides towards the elderly green, and then back towrads Tela - or, at least, the back of the greenrider's head. "Are you making fun of my-- of H'kon's height?" She's laughing, though: it's a joke. It doesn't bother her. "It's amazing to think of how much they've grown - your dragons, I mean - in the past turn. How things change."

"What?" Telavi immediately twists around, but she's young, her back's okay with that. "What... no!" She sounds horrified. "No, no. Just that he's not a dragon, or a runner even, or," is this making it worse instead of better? She stops short, just like that, and turns back around with cheeks aflame. Besides, they're almost there! Solith's even started to land.

Abruptly, Madilla is laughing even more, and reaching out one hand to squeeze Telavi's shoulder. "It's fine," she says. "You didn't mean it that way. It's fine." Awkward. At least they're landing. At least she can try and bite back more of her laughter, and more or less recover her composure.

At least there are no more awkward questions to worry about; no, with Solith having hit the ground, thump-thump, Telavi's altogether too glad to help Madilla down. "Have a wonderful day!" she calls, just shy of a trill. And once the weyrhealer's down, Solith doesn't need any convincing to fly up and away, whether there's another call or not.

Madilla's head tilts up, once she's safely on the ground, and she smiles. "You too!" she calls... Even if it's too late to be heard. Oh well.